


Invisible Chains

by AzTheDragon



Category: Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 05:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11753319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzTheDragon/pseuds/AzTheDragon
Summary: For the past 800 years, the Ninja protected the city from things man had never seen before. No one knew who was behind the mask, why they put so much effort into saving people, or if there was more than one person taking the job through the ages. In retrospect, for being so famous, no one knew much about him. A chance meeting, however, will lead to a great friendship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first three chapters of this fic are a few years old, so they aren't exactly up to par with my current writing skills. You will probably notice a difference.  
> Also, friendly reminder: my works are not betaed, so errors and weird things will happen. Please do forgive me.

The huge flames reached high in the sky, their yellows, oranges and reds a stark contrast to the moonless night. People had long fled the old village, leaving behind nothing but belongings and those that had died in the initial attack. It was amidst this chaos that a lone figure stood its ground, holding a giant stone above its head with shaking arms.

"You have caused us all great suffering," it shouted, revealing a young male voice filled with anger, pain and determination. "You do not deserve to walk this land. Not now... not ever!"

The figure's legs buckled under the weight of the stone and the one holding it up found himself on his knees. Blue eyes looked down into a deep hole in front of him and narrowed, the red rim of the mask seemingly following the movement and granting the wearer a far more angered expression than the one he already had.

Down the hole, two small white dots returned the anger and glints of gold moved about, filling the cavern with the sound of metal. "Mark my words," the growling voice of the evil prisoner echoed, barely audible through the crackling and popping of the burning village. "You have only delayed the inevitable. I shall rise once again, and when I do... You will pay. Dearly."

The one holding the rock shook his head, the long red scarf around his neck waving gently with the movement. "Not while I live," he replied. "And you know what that means, don't you?"

A spectral hiss was the reply and the two stared at each other, feeling as if time itself was slowing down to grant them one last confrontation. But time was unforgiving and soon the weight of the stone grew too much on the slim limbs of the one holding it up. With the last of the strength he possessed, the giant stone was thrown on top of the hole. The symbol on it flashed red for a moment, then faded away as it completed its intended task of sealing the cavern and the one within it.

Perhaps one day the evil would rise again, but the figure knew it would be a long time before that happened. So, for the first time in days he let his own body slump to the ground in a messy heap, too tired to care that he was in the middle of a burning village and knowing that his suit, crafted from the feathers of the Tengu, would protect him from the raging fire.

Before falling unconscious, however, he caught sight of blurred figures challenging the flames to approach him with haste. A few moments later he felt two arms hoist him up and carry him away until everything faded into darkness.

But the motion didn't stop for the whole duration of his unconsciousness and when he finally regained enough strength to open his eyes again, what he saw was completely different than a burning village in the middle of the night. It was a wide and long corridor, brightly lit by sunlight coming in through large windows that made the white and blue of the walls look lighter than they actually were. Even the golden highlights and lines of the decorations seemed to shine of their own light.

"Whu... where..?"

The person carrying him slowed down upon hearing his slurred words and tried to hold him better to not cause unnecessary pain. "Try to not move, Ninja," a male voice said. "You don't have any wounds, but that explosion knocked you through the entire field. You have been unconscious for over ten minutes. I knew we shouldn't have let you fight so soon..."

At those words, some memories started to return to him. They were slow in the process, though, and he felt like he was missing a lot of them. He knew he was the Ninja of Norrisville, that he protected everyone from the attacks of monsters and that he was the last line of defense that the entire world had against the Sorcerer, but he could not remember when he had started doing it and why his body hurt so badly and felt so heavy to move. Perhaps the explosion mentioned to him was the reason of his pain.

Blue eyes looked up and focused on the face of the man carrying him. He had a narrow face with dark skin, framed by a short dark brown beard and round shades. For some reason, the Ninja of Norrisville knew that the man was blind and that he was navigating the halls by memory alone.

"I know you," the ninja murmured, feeling drowsy. "I just... can't remember your name. Or why I know you. All I know is that you're really important for what I do..."

"Indeed I am, boy," the man replied, his mouth drawing a light frown. "But that doesn't matter right now. Think you can stay awake till we get there?"

The ninja sighed, then cast his eyes around the hall and caught sight of several kids and a few adults. They weren't many, but every single one had a worried expression while looking at him and the man carrying him.

After a few seconds of that, however, the ninja lost interest and turned his drowsy attention to his hands. They were resting on his stomach and were one of the few parts of his body that didn't feel sore or in pain. He rubbed his fingers against the fabric covering his body and marveled at how it felt. It was like touching a feather. The only exception was the inside of his hands, where the material became rough. Perfect for grasping things and not let them go. There was a belt around his waist and a long scarf around his neck, all made of the same feathery material. Just colored red instead of black.

"Where are we going?" he asked after a while, closing his eyes. The sunlight was starting to give him a headache. He also felt his body sag, but it felt so good that he didn't care. Nor he did care that his senses were dulling and his mind was losing touch with reality.

The ninja heard the man speak again, but his words were so muddled together that he could not understand them. All he could make out was the urgent tone and the increase of the swaying movement that accompanied the man's walk. There were a few more shouts, a door that banged in the distance and finally the feeling of being set down on something really soft and comfortable. Then everything just faded into darkness a second time. The only difference this time was that there was no shifting of scenarios.


	2. Chapter 2

Howard was bored.

Stupid parents... dragging him out and into the house of a woman that had just arrived in the neighborhood. If it wasn't for their unnecessary need to help her settle in, at this time of the day he would have been at home, in front of his TV eating nachos and playing Grave Puncher.

Instead, he was sitting on a couch next to his sister and listening to the awkward conversation going on between this woman and the rest of his family.

"I really appreciate your help," the woman said. Howard wasn't bothered enough to take in her details and all he could remember from the first few glances at her was that she had long brown hair and wore glasses. "Settling in has been easier and I have more time to dedicate to my son."

Howard raised an eyebrow. The woman had said 'son' in a weird sort of way, as if she was unsure herself of that fact. In the end, though, it was not something that held his attention and he found himself snacking on the small bowl of pretzels sitting on the coffee table in front of him. They weren't his favorite food, but they were better than nothing and they kept his mind off of his current predicament.

However, even he could not sustain a large amount of food and drink in his stomach without going to the toilet, so he excused himself. Already knowing the way to the bathroom, he parted from the rest of his family and their host with a forced smile and disappeared from their sight so quickly that even the Ninja of Norrisville would be proud of.

"Stupid parents, stupid sister..." he muttered to himself as he reached the door to the bathroom. He had nothing against the woman they were helping, but he'd rather spend summer vacation doing what he wanted, not waste time on trying to remember her name. Already he had lost his first day and his copy of Grave Puncher was still sitting on his desk. Unopened.

And if they tried to send him off to another of those naturalistic camps... well, he wouldn't like to be in their shoes.

The door closed behind his back and Howard swiftly took care of his business, emerging back into the corridor a few minutes later accompanied by the sound of running water. He would have continued further and rejoined his family in the awkward conversation about the mundane if the door next to him didn't creak open. It was really strange, he decided, because the door led to the basement and there were no open windows that would have let the wind come in.

Curiosity took over his better judgment and the stout boy found himself walking down the stairs. The deeper he went, the creepier it became. Still, the soft red light coming from the bottom was attracting him like nachos would do and he kept going, ignoring the fact that he was almost in total darkness.

The stairs went down deeper than it should have been for a normal basement and when he was at the bottom, the metal and concrete was replaced with dark wood consumed by many years of usage. The red glow he had seen before came from several torches hanging on the walls of a corridor that branched out in several directions.

Finding that going back upstairs now was an option that he didn't want to take yet, he walked to the intersection and looked in every new direction. While the left path went onwards a bit before doing a sharp turn to the right, the one in front of him and the two to his right branched more.

"This place is such a wonk..." Howard muttered as took a few steps back. As much as he wanted to get away from his family and do something fun, there was no way he was going to willingly get lost in there. "I bet there are a lot of weird things stored down here..."

Not to mention that their possible discovery might trigger the anger of the house's owner. Who knows what that woman was hiding down there.

Decision made, Howard turned around to go back upstairs and came face to face with... something that the boy could only describe as a giant mutant rat. With teeth and claws that were as long as his hand, the beast was staring at him with hungry white eyes and a salivating mouth.

The boy stared at it for a second before running as fast as possible in the opposite direction, ignoring the fact that he was going deeper into that maze. He turned corners, ran past stack of boxes and jumped over debris without stopping, knowing that if he did, the beast would catch up and eat him.

At the idea of being eaten bit by bit, Howard gave a scream of terror and ran as fast as he could. Already he could hear the claws skittering too close to his heels for his comfort, multiplying at each turn and intersection he went through.

As he ran, he mentally recalled every single movie with zombies or at least a swarm of demonic creatures after the protagonist he had seen and listed every rule the survivor would have to follow in order to get to the end in one piece.

First, it was imperative to have some sort of weapon to defend himself with. The best choice would be a flamethrower that could carbonize anything in its path, but considering the place was made of wood it was not a good idea. Besides, Howard doubted he could find one of those lying on the ground.

Scratch that. There was no way that he could find any kind of weapon lying around.

Shaking his head to clear his mind from the consequences of the rats catching up to him when he was weaponless, the stout boy recalled the second rule.

Second, whatever you do, never turn around to look at the enemy when you were running away from them. Every time someone did that in the movies, they ended up dead or became infected and part of the swarm.

But as Howard kept running through the maze trying to stay ahead of his pursuers, he also collected a constantly growing crowd of mutant rats trailing him. By the time he started to feel fatigued despite the boost granted to him by adrenaline and fear, the mob had grown so much that the floor behind him had become an uneven mass of dark fur and shining white eyes.

Despite knowing the second rule of successfully surviving a zombie-situation, Howard could not help but look back at the hungry demons. They were really close now. So close that the ones at his heels were snapping at the air, hoping to get a hold onto his feet with those sharp teeth. When one of the mutant rats decided it was time to take a lunge, Howard screamed as loudly as he could and brought his arms up to his face, closing his eyes. He had no idea if he did that to defend his face or if it was just so he wouldn't be seeing when the beast hit him.

Either way, the stinging pain of sinking claws and teeth never came.

Instead, Howard felt two hands grab him from under his arms and haul him upwards. He was carefully deposited on something narrow and the same hands that had saved him from a gruesome death were now steadying him against the wall.

"You know, you can stop screaming now."

The voice, so quiet and so calm, made Howard realize that he was indeed still screaming. Wrestling some form of control back into himself, the boy took a few panting breaths and then lowered his arms to look at his savior.

At first he couldn't see him, but as soon as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, the outline of a small figure clad in black with red details slowly came visible. The Ninja of Norrisville, the same person he had been self-proclaimed number one fan of, was holding him by the shoulders and staring at him in the eyes.

"Whu... wha... you..." Howard could not help his stammering. He watched as the ninja tilted his head a little to the side and blinked in confusion. "You're... you're... you're the Ninja!"

If he wasn't so bewildered, Howard would have smacked himself on the face. He had dreamed to meet the city's own hero since he had been a little kid, and now that he had finally realized his dream, all he could do was stammer like a baby.

The hands holding him steady slowly left, forcing the stout boy to grab the rafter he was sitting on with his hands. "I mean," Howard really hoped he could salvage some sort of dignity by correcting himself. "Thanks for the save. I just... I suppose it came as a surprise."

"It's alright," the ninja replied as he moved back and rested against the opposite wall. He was perched on the rafter more like a cat than a human. "Sorry if I scared you. You ok?"

Howard took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His heart was still beating really fast and his mind was still trying to process the fact that he had just missed being eaten alive by hundreds of overgrown mutated rats.

"I'm... alright..." he said after he had enough presence of mind to reply. "It was just... really sudden. I mean, one moment I'm seeing this thing jumping at my face, the next I'm... on top of a rafter."

The ninja tilted his head again, then moved his attention to the mass of fur, fangs and claws writing right under them. "Right now, this is the safest place to be," he said with a shrug. "They are pretty fast, but can't climb the walls. That's why I stick to the rafters."

Howard looked at the ninja and noticed how relaxed he was. "You don't seem worried..." he commented. Part of him really wanted to be just like Norrisville's hero and be able to face every challenge with courage and determination.

"They aren't much of a trouble," the Ninja replied with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "A few bombs here, a few slices there and they go down easily."

Silence permeated the air between them and the large boy looked down at the demons in worry. The things were starting to pile up on themselves so that the others could easily reach the rafters and those taking shelter on them.

"So..." Howard let the single word hang in the air for a few seconds, then turned his eyes back to the masked figure. "Why aren't you blasting them?"

The ninja didn't reply at first. Instead he kicked the pile of rats in a fluid movement and returned to perch on the rafter as if he had never moved. "Ah... about that..." he paused and scratched his head. "I'm out of bombs..."


	3. Chapter 3

There was a reason why Howard watched the ninja's fights from a distance, and that was because, at times, they would become bloody battles rather than a beautifully executed sword dance.

After his declaration of being out of bombs, the ninja was quick in understanding that the large boy was unable to travel on the rafters without slipping every step, putting his life in danger. With the upper route out of question, he had no other choice than jump down and start a massive fight with both swords drawn.

On top of his perch, Howard watched in morbid fascination as the creatures moved together, creating a sea of dark fur and malevolent white eyes. When they jumped to attack, the demonic critters looked like raging waves that were ready to swallow their prey, but every time they did that, they were met with the metallic glint of a sword swinging too fast to be seen. The ninja himself was just one fluid movement after another, never stopping and using the momentum of a thrust or a slice to give strength to his next attack.

Minutes passed, the only sounds filling the corridor being that of the raging battle, until with one final lunge and slice, the last of the critters fell to the ground. The ninja didn't relax at first, but chose to adopt a ready position with his swords raised as he wildly turned his head left and right. Satisfied that no more demonic rats were approaching, he let his arms fall to his sides and closed his eyes.

"Are you ok?"

The sudden, uncertain voice made him look up at the boy still perched on the rafters. "Yeah," he replied with a small sigh. He swung his swords a bit to get rid of the inky blood and replaced them into his back pocket. "Come on, let's get going before more comes."

Howard looked down at the ground. It was hard to see because the wood was already dark by itself, but there were cut bodies everywhere and the stench of blood was nauseating. "There are more?" he asked, gulping and clenching the rafter he was sitting on. "I thought they were all here..."

"This is not the first group I fight," the ninja answered tiredly as he pushed dead rats around to free the floor directly under the other boy. "Third one, to be exact. It was supposed to be an easy job... blast a few rats and be back in time for lunch. Then... this!" A hand clad in black vaguely waved at the mass of dead critters to emphasize his last words. When the motion was over, the ninja looked at the beasts with a frown. "I never expected it to be such an invasion... I've been down here since early morning. After a while I was out of bombs and forced to move on the rafters to avoid conflict."

"Man, you have it really bad..." Howard said as he ungracefully jumped down to the ground. When he landed, his feet produced a small splashing sound and the boy grimaced upon seeing the inky blood splatter on his shoes. "This is..."

"Completely wonk?" the ninja finished for him, kicking a dead rat in frustration as he walked down the corridor. "This place has been overrun with these lesser demons for centuries now. They are like normal rats, only smarter. I wouldn't bother getting rid of them if it wasn't necessary..."

The stout boy looked at the ninja in confusion, then rushed to catch up with him. He decided to walk a few feet behind him so that if something popped out of a side corridor or a wall, he wouldn't get in the way. As they moved in silence, or rather, the ninja walked in silence while he caused a cacophony of sounds every time his foot landed on the floor, Howard couldn't help but look around trying to memorize each turn they were taking.

"So..." the boy cringed at how loud his voice sounded through the maze. He just hoped that he wasn't annoying the ninja. The last thing he wanted was to be left alone while hundreds, maybe thousands of those demonic rats were scurrying around hunting for fresh meat. "What is this place anyway? I doubt it's a basement where you store junk you don't want to throw away."

The warrior stopped and turned around to look at Howard with calculating eyes, thinking if he should reply truthfully or dismiss the question with a 'that's a secret you shouldn't be aware of'. But the large boy had already found his way into the underground tunnels, and the place wasn't a secret anymore to him.

"Can you promise me to not tell anyone?" he asked. He crossed his arms and stared right into the other's eyes, wanting to make sure that Howard would be telling him the truth, whatever it was. "It's already bad that you found this place. Think what would happen if everyone wanted to come down here to find me..."

And Howard understood why it was important that no one knew of the tunnels they were in. If a person, or more, decided to explore the place, the demonic rats would be feasting on them and the ninja would have to work overtime to save everyone. "I won't tell," he said with a nod, never taking his eyes off from the blue ones. "Although... I have to admit... it's gonna be hard to not tell. I mean, I'm here with you, the Ninja, and as much as terrifying those things are, this is a dream come true! People would do anything to be in my place!"

The ninja chuckled at the enthusiasm displayed by the other boy. "Aren't you worried of getting hurt?" he asked as he slowly took a rolled parchment as long as his arm out of his front pocket. The paper was yellowed by time and the edges were so torn and frayed that they had to be held together by adhesive tape.

Howard shrugged, a small frown on his face. "Yeah. Part of me wants to get out of this place as soon as possible," he said. "And be back in my room, playing Grave Puncher with a large plate of nachos in front of me."

There was the sound of old paper unfolding as the ninja spread the old scroll on the ground, revealing a complex maze of faded lines and ancient scribbles. "It might not look like it," he started to explain as he placed his sais onto each corner of the map to keep it unfolded. "But these tunnels were built before the city, and every time a new zone is built, new paths are dug. I'm not entirely sure why it looks like a maze, though. Something about keeping enemies lost and trapped within, but I never paid attention to that part of the story..."

The more he listened to the ninja, the more Howard saw him less like a hero and more like a normal boy of his same age. It was amusing to see how the masked warrior was muttering to himself like he would do during hours spent on homework. Deep down, the stout boy wondered what kind of life the ninja led when he wasn't fighting monsters and saving people.

One black finger pointed to a small staircase drawn near the center of the map, shaking Howard out of his thoughts. "I believe you came down from the residential district since I made sure all the other entrances are closed. Right now..." the ninja paused and pointed another zone of the map with his other finger. It wasn't on the other side of the maze, but at the same time it wasn't exactly close to where Howard had entered from. "...we're here."

Howard looked up from the map and observed the corridor they were in, trying to catch glimpse of any detail that could help him figure out their position on the map. "How do you know we're there?" he asked. The only difference he could see was that there were no dead rats around them. "There is no 'you are here' sign hanging on the walls..."

The ninja shrugged and replaced his sais into the back pocket of his suit. As he did that, the map rolled up on its own with a loud rustle and all the warrior had to do was to put it away. "I... don't know it myself..." he admitted. "I just do. I couldn't get lost in here even if I tried..."

"That must come in handy," Howard commented as he started to follow the ninja again. This time, however, he found himself walking side by side with him rather than behind him, and he really enjoyed that. Not because he was walking and talking with a hero, but because he was doing so with someone that wasn't making fun of him for his large built.

They spent perhaps over half a hour like that, talking about random things and exchanging opinions on something, finding out how little the ninja knew about everyday life. While he knew a lot about what he was pitted against in his fights, he was completely lacking on the knowledge of videogames, TV shows and a lot of things that were a must in the modern world.

"I'm serious, Ninja," Howard pressed, frantically waving his arms into the air. It was a good thing his loud voice wasn't attracting more of the demonic rats as they made their way back to the staircase leading to the residential district. "You have to play it! Grave Puncher was labeled as the best game! Game of the century even!"

The ninja watched in bemusement as the shorter boy started to rant about how good that game was. He shook his head and placed a hand onto the other's shoulder to calm him down. "I don't think I have time for that," he said, voice tinted with resignation. "Or anything that has nothing to do with what I do."

Howard stared for a moment, then crossed his arms and stopped to glare at the ninja. "And what do you do when you're not fighting some monster or robot?" he asked, his eyes narrowing with each word he said. "Sleep all the time?"

Not that he could blame him. If all of the ninja's fights were like the one he had seen earlier, he had all the rights in the world to spend more hours than normal to rest. What he doubted, however, was that the warrior would spend every single free moment sleeping and lolling about. His body was too fit for him to be lazy.

"I either train or meditate," was the reply. The ninja looked down at his hands and flexed them, a deep frown on his masked face. "Or try to remember. My... book... can only tell me about ninja stuff and give out cryptic advices. The rest is up to me to figure out."

Those were the only words he spoke before he resumed walking. Howard quickly caught up and tried to find words to voice his thoughts, occasionally glancing at his side to see if the ninja was angry with him. All he saw, however, was a sad and lonely kid that had a very big burden on his shoulders.

"It was... about two years ago," the ninja spoke softly, not knowing why he had suddenly started to blurt out his secrets to someone he had just met. Perhaps it was to relieve some of his frustration or reorder his own ideas. Or maybe because he just wanted someone to listen to him. "I don't remember any of it, but I was told that the robot I fought against blew up and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I had no idea who I was or where I was."

Howard cringed and shivered. He could remember that happening. At the time it had been all over the news and videos and articles about it could still be found on the internet. The part that had made his blood run cold was when one of the teachers of the high school had picked the ninja in his arms and had carried him away. In that moment, the hero of Norrisville had appeared small and frail.

Howard was not sure if he should be feeling relieved or sad. True, having amnesia was a horrible thing, but at the same time there had been no permanent damage and a week later the ninja was back in action, destroying robots, returning monsters to normal and saving people.

"Man, that's shnasty..." he said, looking up at the ninja once again. "You don't even remember your name? Or how old are you? Nothing at all?"

At each question, the ninja shook his head. "Nothing. Name's still a mystery and I can only guess my own age," he paused and sighed in deject. "The only thing I'm sure of is that I am Ninja. It's kind of weird, because I know there were others before me, but I feel like they were... stand ins? One of them even returned the suit to me when I woke up from one year of coma..."

In that moment, Howard's brain decided to take a screeching halt and try to figure out what he had just heard. "Wait, you were in a coma for a year and someone else took your place? So there are more than one ninja? No one ever saw more than one of you running around."

The ninja shook his head once again. "That's because the suit I'm wearing is the only one in existence. Many could dress up in black and red and fight, but none of them would be able to withstand the attacks from those monsters like the suit's wearer can. That's why there is always only one ninja fighting."

Howard was flabbergasted, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form words. Despite being a logical conclusion, no one had ever though that there could be different people behind the mask, taking turns to fight monsters or passing down the suit when they were too old to do so. "Well, that explain the 'eight hundred years' part of the story..."

Without realizing it, the two finally came to the staircase that led to the residential district above and stopped. Howard looked at it with an unhappy frown, then turned his attention back to the ninja and tried to smile as best as he could despite cringing at the idea of returning to his family and the boredom of their conversation.

"You've been down here for quite a while," the ninja spoke suddenly, breaking Howard's train of thoughts about his parents and sister. "If they ask, just tell them you were helping Cunningham's son in the basement."

"Cunningham?" Howard asked with a pensive frown. "Ain't that the lady's name? Wait, she's your mother?"

There was a quiet laugh and the ninja patted the large boy on the back. "No, she's just my doctor. But there are times that she sure acts like one," he replied in amusement. "Sooo... I'll be really happy if you don't tell her that the rat infestation is worse than we originally thought."

Howard nodded in understanding and moved towards the stairs. He was not sure what he should do to thank the ninja for having saved his life, or how he should part from him. He didn't want to appear cheesy or like the other fans that looked at the hero and not the person behind the mask. The ninja didn't deserve that kind of treatment from him. Sure, it was nice to be loved by all and be worshiped, but he knew that he needed to show his appreciation in a really meaningful way.

The half a hour spent talking with him came back and Howard remembered how hopelessly lost the ninja was when talking about videogames and fun in general. The confusion and wonder shown when he had described the latest games had made him laugh at the time. And then, as if to counter the lighthearted moments, there was the one where he had seen him as a sad and lonely soul.

Stopping right before his foot landed on the first step, he turned around and stared at the ninja. "This might sound weird, but do you have a phone?" he asked, hoping that his sudden outburst wasn't taken the wrong way.

His worries were cast aside when the ninja took a phone out of his belt and silently handed it to him. It was one of the latest models, black with red linings, and could be voice controlled into doing certain tasks. Very useful if the ninja needed to make a call and had no time to stop to dial the number.

"I hope you're not planning to spread my number around," the ninja's joking voice made Howard look up with a raised eyebrow. "It'd be annoying to receive calls from fans while I'm in the middle of a fight."

Howard slanted his eyes, his mind picturing the ninja fighting a huge robot when all of a sudden the ringing phone distracted him. The outcome of that scene was either him getting punched into the sky like a rocket or flattened to the ground like a pancake.

"Uh, no. That's... I'm not my sister!" he replied hastily as he shook his head to clear it from the images. He returned his attention back to the phone and started to fiddle with it. "Look, I don't know what I can do, but if you ever need something or just need to hang around someone that isn't trying to kill you..."

Without finishing his sentence, Howard returned the phone and motioned at it with his hand, showing that under the few numbers already listed there was a new one accompanied by the name of its owner. The ninja stared at it for a moment, then pocketed his phone and nodded in gratitude. "You better go," he said indicating the stairs with a motion of his head. "Or you might miss dinner."

At the mention of dinner, Howard's stomach grumbled loudly, but before departing he pointed a finger towards the ninja's face and glared. "Remember, Ninja" he whispered, trying to intimidate the other despite knowing it was impossible. "You, me, Grave Puncher, my house. You have to play that game."

The laughter that filled the corridor was somewhat liberating and Howard couldn't help but laugh alongside the ninja for a good few moments. "Fine, you win this time," the masked warrior crossed his arms and leaned against the wall to his right. "I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do between a giant robot and a fanged monster."

"Same thing," Howard replied, turning around and taking the first step on the stairs, knowing that if he lingered longer he wouldn't go back at all. Not even if there was a plate full of tacos waiting for him at the top. Hanging around with the ninja to talk about games and anything random they could think of had been the funniest thing he had done in a long while.

"Thanks, Howard."

The voice had been a whisper, barely audible, but Howard still heard it. He smiled and turned around to reply, only to find out that the ninja had disappeared without leaving any trace. Not even the characteristic red smoke of a Smoke Bomb. Howard's smile disappeared only for a second before he shook his head and climbed the stairs, chuckling to himself.

The day had turned out to be much better than he had originally thought it would be.


	4. Chapter 4

After his encounter with the Ninja, Howard kept his phone always charged and within reach. Day after day he hoped that the masked hero would call, or send a short message. But as time went on and summer slowly drew to an end, the boy started to wonder if it hadn't all been a story he came up with while in the bathroom of their neighbor.

He had been utterly bored after all, and there was no better distraction in his mind than to fantasize about having an adventure with the legend of Norrisville.

And that was why the sudden phone call at 3am made him almost topple down the bed in a tangle of limbs and blankets out of fear. The motion was so jarring that his concentration broke and he lost a life to one of the many tombstones littering the screen of his personal TV.

"Who's the shoob that calls while I'm in the middle of punching graves?"

Throwing the controller on the bed, Howard reached for his phone and stared down at the display with a frown. The caller's number was unknown, and for a moment the boy was tempted to deny the call and go back to the bliss of mindless punching.

He wasn't sure what made him answer it, though. Maybe it was because he wanted to yell at the caller, or maybe it was because, deep down, he was curious. After all, the only people that ever called him were his parents and sister, and right now they were all soundly asleep in their rooms. Not even a bomb could wake them up.

Accepting the call before it could go silent, Howard brought the phone up to his ear and listened.

"Uh... Hello?"

The voice on the other end was tiny and unsure. Kind of like a small kid saying hi to a stranger upon being prompted by their mother. Still, despite the huge difference in tone, Howard recognized the owner.

"Ninja?" he asked, his own voice filled with uncertainty. "What..? Are you ok?"

There was a long pause before the Ninja took a shaky breath. "Y-yeah," he replied. "Look, I'm sorry if I call so late, probably woke you up too, but... I... Can I crash at your place tonight?"

Howard sat up straight and completely forgot about the Ninja's distress in favor of his excitement. "That's so bruce! I can show you the new Grave Puncher, and we can play it together! And then we can also play the older ones. They are still the cheese!" he paused for a moment, thinking. When his eyes landed on the empty packets of chips littering the floor, he grinned. "And we can eat snacks! What do you like?"

He could barely believe it. After almost losing hope, the Ninja had called and now wanted to spend the night playing games with him. Just like they had promised each other that day down in that stupidly insane maze.

The tired chuckle that filtered out of the speaker halted Howard's rambling thoughts, bringing the boy back to reality. "Yeah, it would be bruce," the warrior replied quietly. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

When the line went silent, Howard felt like the Ninja had omitted something important. Yet, at the idea of having a hero hanging out in his room made him too excited to dwell on it for too long. Maybe it was just secret Ninja stuff that he shouldn't know about. But if it wasn't, he would be figuring it out after having fun.

Dropping the phone onto the bed, he rushed around the room to hide the more incriminating evidences of his less than active life. Dirty clothes found their way either into his closet or inside his dresser. Crumpled empty food containers went under the bed with an inch tall layer of dust that had been there since forever. All the broken stuff went into a corner of the room and covered by the biggest blanket he could muster, hiding them from view. No one would know how messy his room had been unless they had been there to witness it.

Perhaps he should reorder his games in a neat pile too. It would be nice to have an easy access to them if he was looking for a particular one. However, as soon as he reached for the first case, he was interrupted by a light knock on his window.

Howard sucked in a breath and held it, listening in the silence for further confirmation that his guest had arrived. A moment later there was another knock, and the boy forgot all about putting his games into order and rushed to the small window of his basement room. He reached up, unlatching the lock with the tips if his fingers, and watched as a black shape slipped through the narrow opening.

Now that the Ninja was standing there in his room, Howard suddenly felt at a loss of words. Even in the faint light of the TV, he could see how tired the warrior was.

So this was what he hadn't said over the phone.

"Thanks, Howard," the Ninja said after the silence became too awkward. "For letting me in."

The boy snapped out of his trance and looked between the masked hero and the rest of his room. "Why don't you sit down and I go grab some snacks?"

The Ninja took careful steps towards the bed and sat down on the edge, eyes drawn to the TV. He seemed lost in his thoughts, as if he wasn't even there, and his shoulders and back were so tense that it was almost painful to watch them.

It was like whatever battle had gone on prior to the phone call was still going on inside his mind.

"I'll be quick," Howard said, gaining the attention of his guest. "You just relax. My parents and sister are heavy sleepers, so they won't come down."

The Ninja tilted his head forward in a brief nod. "Thank you."

As soon as those words were out of his mouth, the warrior returned his gaze to the TV and proceeded to go back to whatever he was thinking before being distracted.

It was a bit unnerving to see the usually active and talkative hero so subdued, so Howard quietly made his way out of the room and closed the door behind his back. Perhaps his family was currently dead to the world, but it was better safe than sorry. Heidi would grill him to bits with questions, probably doing the same with the Ninja if she got a hold of him, and she would continue till next week. Or worse, next month.

Luckily for him, along with the heavy sleeper fame of his family, Howard could also count on the fact that the kitchen was very close to the basement stairs.

It didn't take long for him to go up and grab at as much junk food as he could, and much less to carry it down back to his room. Opening the door with several things perched precariously on his short arms, however, was a completely different matter. It took him several moments of fumbling and balancing things around before he was able to twist the knot and push the stupid door open.

"Hey, I'm back," he announced, more for his benefit than anything else. The last thing he wanted was to startle his guest and get impaled with one of his swords. "Brought food and drinks."

For a moment Howard thought that the Ninja had left because the spot where he had been sitting on was empty, but when a movement caught his eyes, he realized that the masked hero had moved to the messy collection of games on the ground. He was crouching with his back to the door, and he would have blended perfectly into the darkness of the room if it wasn't for the light coming from the nearby TV. Heck, even the red parts were barely visible.

"That is... so bruce!" Howard barely had the mind to drop his scavenged stash on the bed rather than the floor. "I can barely see you!"

The Ninja chuckled, amusement finally breaking through the weariness that had permeated him since stepping foot into the room. "Traditional ninjas never wore black," he replied, forcing his body to stand up. "They blended in with the crowd, and struck when you least expected it only to walk away like any normal civilian before anyone even realized what was going on."

He walked back to the bed, feet slightly dragging, and eased himself onto the mattress. One of his hands browsed through the food offerings and came back with a bottle. "I, however, need to be recognized when I'm out fighting, but at the same time I need the ability to hide in darkness when I need it."

Suddenly, what little energy the Ninja had recovered was gone, leaving him weary once again. His shaking hands gripped the bottle and he actually had to put effort in opening it.

"Man, what happened to you?"

If he wasn't so curious, Howard would have wondered if his question wasn't too invasive of the Ninja's privacy.

"Bad fight," the warrior replied, nursing the open bottle in his hands. "Got electrocuted, so I'm having a lot of troubles moving. You'll probably see the fight tomorrow on the news. There was enough ruckus going on that people woke up and started filming."

Howard winced, but a moment later he was transfixed when the Ninja reached under his chin with a hand and lifted the hem of his mask above his nose. No one had ever seen more than his eyes, and the boy idly wondered how the hero really looked like without all that black cloth enveloping him.

"So..." the Ninja took a sip of the frizzy drink and sighed in contentment. "What was that about you showing me this Grave Puncher?"

Howard couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face. "Oh, you're in for a treat, Ninja! You'll love the mindless bashing of graves!"


End file.
